


Tea for Two

by Unknown_de_Mordor



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friendship / Flirting / Thinking of You Fest, M/M, NaruSasu - Freeform, SasuNaru - Freeform, music references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-12 02:13:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12949098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unknown_de_Mordor/pseuds/Unknown_de_Mordor
Summary: Sasuke was pronounced a violin prodigy when he was seven, a genius virtuoso when he was twenty. As far as he was concerned, a jazz violinist shouldn’t hold a candle to him, should he? Then why couldn't he stop being obsessed with Uzumaki Naruto?Also on FF.net.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is inspired by lives and friendship between Yehudi Menuhin and Stephane Grappelli. (Honestly, I've never seen two people so adored each other. XD) However, I’m taking this a notch further and make it a Narusasu/SasuNaru story, as in they will get together.
> 
> Warning: this story is set when our characters are in their thirties and in our universe, so they will be pretty OOC since they’re supposed to be (more) matured. Also because there’s no chakra, ninja war, massacre, or tailed beasts.
> 
> Disclaimers: I don’t own any character from the Naruto universe. They belong to Kishimoto. I also don’t own the songs I mention in this story. I have the playlist at the end of the chapters if you’re interested. I am not a musician or is anyway involved in the industry. I just love all sorts of music and jazz in particular. I will try my best to be as realistic as possible but I’m not going to get everything right. Just so you know.

Sasuke had started to count his age by the years he had been playing the violin.

The memory of the first time he had taken up the instrument was starting to blur now that he was in his thirties. He remembered being in Itachi's room, watching his brother practiced, but then Itachi had turned around and offered to teach him. Sasuke, being so young, had been all too happy to do anything his brother had wanted. He only realized now that Itachi had been bored. His brother was never one for music to begin with let alone playing any by himself.

Some time after that, Orochimaru, his first proper violin teacher, had pronounced him a prodigy, and the memories of playing in the garden became concert halls, interviews, live sessions, parties with sponsors, and just hours and hours of practice where Itachi had been notably absent.

But it had been fine. Sasuke had genuinely come to love the violin and would have fought for it if he was any less talented. Being the music prodigy of the family also came with its perk. He had instantly become the center of their family life. His mother and father would move towns and countries for him if it meant getting him the best education and the best instruments. And like any brat, Sasuke had loved being spoiled by his parents. Anything he wanted, he got.

That, unfortunately, did not always translate to the people outside his immediate family. And it had no effect at all in the music circle itself. After all, Sasuke wasn't the only prodigy in the business. He was just the most persistent in following the classical tradition and the most well-marketed. Seeing that the violin genius wasn't going to go away from the classical-music scene any time soon, some moved on to other things. One of them was his most infuriating rival, now stylistically called himself _Sai!_

"Why am I watching this?" he asked as the screen showed the cloud of dry ice fading and a grand piano was lifted up in the middle of a tech-heavy stage. Screams could be heard from all around as girls waved their glow sticks and cried. A pop concert was such a far cry from the solemnity of the classical concert hall Sasuke so loved. In the latter setting, people were actually there to listen to the music.

"Oh, shush," said Sakura as she dropped herself on the sofa beside him with two cans of beer. She offered one to him. "Shouldn't you at least keep track of your friends?"

"That's your job," he replied before taking a swig from his can. Sakura was his manager, personal assistant, and a friend. _She_ was the one who was supposed to take care of things so that Sasuke could just get on stage with his violin and be his genius self.

He could feel her rolled her eyes. " _This_ is why Sai get millions of fans and you play for an old, rusty horde."

"They pay well enough."

"Urgh!" Hands went up in the air as Sai absolutely massacred Mozart’s by adding an upbeat hip-hop flare. Sasuke scrunched his face as Sakura went on. "You’re not the child-wonder anymore, you know. Or even the teen heartthrob. You have to build new relationships with the audience now, or else you’re going to lose them at some point. You're still young and handsome, but you're an absolute dick."

 _"Is everybody having a good time?"_ _Sai!_ shouted into his microphone with a large smile, a smile that actually looked a little weird on his face. The Sai that Sasuke knew had had this hideous all-purpose smirk that Sasuke had never been sure what it was supposed to mean. Now he had a proper show-biz grin that actually looked happy.

"People _pay_ me to play the violin, Sakura. They don't pay me to be nice," he said as he tried to fight the gooseflesh forming from watching his rival played a pop piece as a rapper with two red-fang tattoo on his face added verses about a girl who was out of his league or whatever. Sasuke often wondered if there was nothing else for pop artists to sing about like, you know, _The Four Seasons_.

"That is not how music business works these day, Sasuke. Fifty years ago, maybe, but not today," Sakura said wisely. "Listen, you don't have to do pop music at all. You _can_ keep doing classical music, but classical music fans don't always come to concert halls anymore. You have to be more accessible than that _and_ more approachable."

"No."

"Oh, for ffff-sake," Sakura swore. She finally gave up talking to him and watched the recording instead. The pyrotechnics were making Sasuke's eyes hurt and his stomach burnt in rage. This was not about music at all. This was a series of spectacles designed to keep people's attention. And he hated it. What he hated more was the fact that Sai was riding the wave of adoration that was _not_ about him being a brilliant pianist but his manufactured personality. Was this really something a person needed to do to be 'successful' these days? Liszt would have been appalled.

The next few songs were more tolerable as Sai went through the mix-match of pop and classical. The excitement at the start of the concert calmed down a little, and the pianist even get to show off his skills on a show-stopping short concerto. The crowd was quiet as a string quartet accompanied the piano. The camera panned the hall, focusing on faces staring at the stage as if in rapture, some even crying from how moving Sai played. And _that_ was Sai the piano prodigy, shining brighter than any stage effects with just his hands on the ivory keys. The piece was long enough that Sasuke forgot for awhile that this was supposed to be a pop concert, that Sai had told him he was bored of being second in the concert hall and he was going to find his own way outside of it. It was as if the man had never left.

The piece came to a tender end, and, as soon as the note stopped, the hall erupted in cheers and screams. Sai stood, tired but delighted, and he waved and bowed to the crowd like he would after playing a solo piece. Even Sakura was clapping loudly, elated by the performance.

But that wasn't the end of the concert. Sai took the moment after the long applause to talk to his fans, thanking them for coming -- the standard 'I-won't-be-here-without-you' speech. He talked about the piece he'd just played and his classical background, his relationship with music and what he thought of it. All of this was kind of bizarre to Sasuke because Sai never told him any of this and they had known each other since they were ten and working the prodigy circuit. They weren't friends, but they shared an experience that his rival clearly did not with this faceless crowd. Still, he spoke on, interrupted here and there with cheers and loud shouts of 'I love you.' These people who knew nothing of a piano aside from how it sounded seemed to be lapping his story up in stride. And Sai looked happy talking about it, which was even weirder because the Sai he knew would never let his guard down this much least of all in front of several cameras and hundreds of cellphones.

 _"So when I started making this album, I met this guy,"_ he said. Cheers erupted, and Sai laughed. _"No, I'm not going out with him, but thanks for the support."_ There were laughter all around and a few more screams. _"He has pretty much convinced me that there is no boundary in music, genre or otherwise, and he has given me the courage to experiment as much as I did for this album. So I thought, it's only appropriate that I write something for him in return."_ At that, Sai, once again, took his seat in front of the piano. _"And this is the song."_

With that, everything went quiet. Sai touched the key and it sounded like nothing Sasuke had heard him played. It was just a line, like a child stumbling on a piano before he began to understand rhythm or melody. The note were sparse, then getting denser and denser, more complex and cleaner. He even noticed a tribute to Pachelbel's Canon and Beethoven's Fifth, layered with other sounds that was almost like noise that got quieter and quieter as the tune became more refined. And Sasuke was reminded how Sai used to play as a child -- precise, clean, and soulless. Orochimaru had told him that Sai would have been unparalleled if he had some angst in him to break out of his shell.

But he didn't, and the tune got quieter, sadder, the note again became sparse. It felt like listening to a glorious tree dying in the middle of a beautiful garden. Sasuke felt a lump stuck in his throat.

Then suddenly, there was a sound of a violin -- three clean notes so high they made Sasuke gasped. They pierced through the sound the piano like a lightning bolt, and the crowd seemed to be holding their breaths. A pause, an emptiness, and then the violin started to play again, now a line -- bold but tender. Sai responded on the piano. The violin came back. The piano responded again, and Sasuke thought of a child alone in a playground who was suddenly approached by another child with an offer.

_Do you wanna play together?_

Then, the song suddenly became something else. It was not a violin piece accompanied by a piano, it was not a piano piece supported by a violin. They ping-ponged back and forth, and for the first time Sasuke watched Sai went nuts on his keyboard, playing with such a passion that would have made Sasuke envied if he was younger. The violin responded in kind with the sound that Sasuke did not know the instrument could make. His heart pounded.

Suddenly the stage floor opened up, and a man and his violin were lifted up. His blond hair was the first and only thing Sasuke noticed that wasn't his playing. Once the smoke cleared, Sasuke just could not take his eyes off the bow and those nimble fingers. The man played like nobody Sasuke had known, with no reverence or hesitation. The violin simply became his servant, singing its heart out for its master.

The piece came to a grand finale where the two of them played on top of each other. The back-and-forth became so tight it was as if they were fighting now, but they weren't. They never lost the harmony or the rhythm as they spiralled up on each other's energy, exploding at the end with a vibrato so pure and beautiful that something inside Sasuke seemed to implode. The crowd collectively gasped and then went silent for a second before everyone erupted into hoots and cheers. Sai got up from his seat and hugged the man so tightly Sasuke thought he might suffocate him. The blond smiled and hugged back. The crowd went even crazier.

 _"Ladies and gentlemen, Uzumaki Naruto,"_ Sai said into the microphone, sounding prouder than he ever had been about his own playing. The blond gave a brilliant smile, a bow, and a wave, and Sasuke felt his stomach sank.

/***/

The first thing he did after hanging out with Sakura was going to his laptop and searching the name Uzumaki Naruto.

Part of it was bafflement. Sasuke found it impossible that he couldn't have met or heard of Naruto before. Someone so naturally gifted with the bow must have been in the prodigy circle before. How come his name hadn't even been mentioned?

Unfortunately, the internet did not think this was an interesting question because the first entry with the title _Who is Uzumaki Naruto!?!_ listed mostly the rumours regarding his relationship with Sai with only a brief mention of his occupation as a violinist. And it wasn't the only page along this line. Questions about Naruto were asked in interviews where Sai reiterated that they were simply friends and collaborators, although he made no attempt to hide how much he adored Naruto as a musician and as a person. Fangirls' ovaries exploded in the comments, and fan fictions were written about the two with the content that Sasuke would not repeat even in summary.

The thing was, Sai was a terrible tease. He seemed content to keep Naruto's full identity a mystery to the world, a fact that one interviewer noted. Sai just laughed and told her that, _"You know I don't control the internet, right?"_ His smugness grated Sasuke. _"People like to think that the internet has everything about real life nowadays. You can google anything and it would come up. But we all know that not everything on the internet is real and not all real things appears on the internet. They are extensions of each other, not mirrors."_ Sasuke could almost hear how pleased Sai was with sounding so savvy and modern and totally avoiding the question. When asked if Naruto would tour with him, he said, _"I'd love to have him with us, but Naruto has his own stuff, so I can't have him for all my shows. I try, though. He's going to be a surprise guest in some, that's all I can say."_

And the guy did show up, as evident in a video clips Sasuke found of Sai and Naruto playing together and Sai failing miserably for some reason on his improvisation. _"I'm sorry, guys,"_ he told the adoring crowd who still cheered him on.

Naruto placed an arm around his shoulder in a one-armed hug, and, for the first time, Sasuke heard him speak, _"Don't worry. Improv takes practice, too. And he's done great, right guys?"_ The crowd cheered louder.

Sai chuckled. _"This is why you're the jazz master, and I'm not."_

Sasuke froze at the word: Jazz.

Of course, it was jazz. Someone who could improvise like he was just going for a walk couldn't have been in classical music, could he? Sure, classical musicians was able to improvise but most likely under the threat of death and torture and with a lot of kicking and screaming. Sasuke was surprised that Sai would subject himself to the dire possibility of public humiliation the way he did.

He opened up a new tab, typed in _Uzumaki Naruto jazz violinist,_ and rejoiced when all the junks involving Sai disappeared. What was left, unfortunately, was not much. Sasuke found a few posters for concerts with pictures of Naruto in a nice-looking suit and a violin by his side, his eyes a startling shade of blue. Sasuke compulsively saved those even though they were out of date by over a year. There was no new announcement of a show anywhere, and yet Sai said he was busy. With what?

Then, after old leads to poorly taped videos by members of the audience, Sasuke finally found something relevant. Naruto apparently had an unofficial fan page on Tumblr, and the girl who managed it had stalker-level skill in getting any info about him from offline. There were even pictures of Naruto's with his fans, a lot of them young women. One of the pictures was Naruto on a dingy stage playing his violin with a band taken very recently. The caption below said, _"Got a ticket for The Ninjas today. And OMG!!"_ followed by a string of exploding hearts.

Sasuke scrunched his face. _The Ninjas_ ? Who came up with that lame-ass name? Not to mention it was so unoriginal that there was no way Sasuke could have stumbled upon them searching the term, and he didn't even _like_ online marketing.

He scrolled down some more and found a scan of an interview in a jazz magazine with all the band members. On the side were pictures of them fooling around with Naruto laughing his guts out in one of them. Sasuke saved it before he began reading the interview.

 _"Congrats on the new album!"_ the interviewer began. _"I guess the first thing everyone wants to know is what bring this on. Some of you aren't even jazz musicians at all, are you?"_

 _"Well, now we are,"_ replied Chouji. Everyone laughed. _"No, I was a drummer in a metal band before this. I have always listened to jazz, though. Shikamaru here is my good friend, and he's a proper bass player since high school. We go to each other's concerts all the time. But, yeah, I only learn the intricacy of being in a jazz band very recently."_

_"Is it very different for you?"_

_"Oh, totally. I used to really have a go at it, like, you know."_ Chouji did an imitation of how he banged his head while playing in metal concerts. _"Naruto still likes me doing it, but the style is very different now."_

_"Actually, Naruto, you were on a roll with your solo career just before this. What prompted you to start a band? And why The Ninjas?"_

_"It's because we used to roleplay Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in primary school."_ Everyone laughed again. _"Unfortunately, we can't use that name because it's trademarked, so we go for The Ninjas. We still call each other by our turtle monikers backstage, though. I'm Michelangelo. Shikamaru's Donatello. Chouji's Leonardo. And Ino's Raphael."_

_"So, you all know each other from your childhood."_

_"Yeah. For some reason, we all end up with a music career, and we still keep in touch. So, I thought, why not. These guys are my best friends after all. And having a solo career can be really lonely at times. Of course, I worked with a band as we toured, but it's not quite the same as having people you can riff off of and share your energy with and work on something that is ours_ _together. Making this album's been a blast."_

_"Well, speaking of this album. I have to bring this up because I know a lot of people have this question in mind. We can't help but notice that you have a new violin, and some have been saying that it's a Stradivarius given to you by a very wealthy heiress of a real estate empire."_

_"Oh, god, not this again,"_ muttered Naruto as his friend mockingly jeered. _"First off, it's not a Strad. It's a very old violin and that's probably why people think it's a Strad, but no. I had wanted a good violin for a long time, so I saved up for this baby. I didn't get it as a gift."_

_"So the rumour of a girlfriend is out?"_

_"No girlfriend."_

The interviewer noted a twinkle in his eyes. _"A boyfriend, then?"_

 _"Oh, you're bold,"_ said Ino. _"But, no. He's my arm-candy right now. He's not allowed to have girlfriend or boyfriend."_

The interview shifted to Ino -- vocalist, pianist, and a R&B artist with some success. She talked about the close tradition and history of black music and how she approached it as a white-Asian person. He skimmed the rest of the interview on Shikamaru who didn't say much anyway. They came back to Naruto briefly to talk about his collaboration with Sai, but there was nothing new in his response. Sai was a genius. Working with him was a blast. Yada, yada. Sasuke skipped all those, noted their album title, and opened a new tab to look for it.

And, boy, was it hard.

Sasuke thought finding an album of classical music was hard, but he was not prepared by how hard it was for him to find a physical CD of a newly minted jazz band who, apparently, divided the jazz crowd so badly some denounced their music as a debauchery of the jazz tradition. One reviewer mourned on and on about Naruto wasting his god-gifted talent on a group of amateurs. On the other side, people praised their boldness, their creativity, their evident synchronicity, one going as far as saying Naruto was on the course to be the next John Coltrane, who, according to Wikipedia, was the closest thing to a god in the long-gone golden era of jazz.

After all that, Sasuke just had to get a CD. Then, after much searching, he caved, signed up for an iTune account, and bought the digital files so he could listen to it _now_.

And that was exactly how Sakura found him the next morning -- in his office, in front of his computer, jazz playing in the background, and not a wink of sleep. "What on earth is going on?"

By that time, Sasuke was probably on the third or fourth repeat of the album and knew exactly how high Ino's voice could go as she improvised in her solo. He turned the volume down. "Good morning to you too, Sakura."

His friend stared at him for a second, like she couldn't believe what she saw. "You haven't slept."

"No."

She sighed, exasperated. "Sasuke, you have an interview today, and you're super cranky without enough sleep. What am I going to do with you?"

"Well, you can do something for me, and I promise I won't bite the interviewer's head off," he said. "Find where and when _The Ninjas_ is going to play next. _"_

/***/

 

"Are you sure you don't want me in there with you?" Sakura asked him after dropping him off in front of _The Gazelle_ , a jazz club previously a cabaret house. The new owner didn't think it proper to tore down the old historic sign and so left the sensual swirl of red neon right where they were.

"I'm fine," Sasuke said. As much as Sakura was his partner in crime, he didn't think she would understand it. She had asked him on their way there whether he felt threatened by Naruto and whether that was the reason he needed to see the man performed live. Sasuke's answer was no, a monosyllabic reply. Sakura seemed content with that, so he didn't felt like elaborating.

The thing was Naruto really wasn't a threat to Sasuke; he had resolutely beaten him without trying. The more Sasuke listened, the more he heard the free-spirited way Naruto engaged with the music, the command he had on the instrument, and the emotion so raw and bare it made Sasuke's heart hurt. It had gotten to a point where Sasuke had to stop listening because Naruto's towering presence was beginning to affect his playing, chipping at his own confidence so much that there were times when Sasuke felt like he could not play at all. Nerves was nothing new to him, but nerves at this level was unprecedented for a performer of his caliber.

When he first asked Sakura to get a ticket for him, he just wanted to have a listen. Now, he needed to _see_ Naruto, to make him human again, otherwise, Sasuke didn't know how to keep on playing.

He handed over his ticket at the front door before checking in the coats and heading in. The inside was quite full, filled with people who seemed to come from all walks of life. Some were there in jeans, t-shirts, and backpacks as if straight out of the university's lecture hall. Others were in nice suits and evening dresses, ordering flutes of champagne instead of tall glasses of beer. Sasuke shuffled through the crowd, ordered a martini at the bar, and made his way quietly to a seat near the wall, hoping that no one here recognized who he was. Sasuke really didn't want to deal with public relation at this moment.

The light on the stage lit up, and people took the cue to get to their seats. The side curtain shifted and out came Naruto, wearing a slightly too small black t-shirt with a Ninja Turtle on the front. His blond hair shone in the spotlight as he grinned at the audience, now hooting and cheering.

"Hello, everybody," He said into the microphone. Someone in the back hooted. The blond waved at him. "You didn't expect me to MC my own show, did ya? The thing is my first gig in jazz was in my first year of college, doing MC's here at _The Gazelle_ ." Some more cheers. "Yeah, I called it my first gig, but I didn't really get paid for it. I mean I was on stage for five minutes each night. Anymore than that, Tsunade over there would send a tomato flying at my face." People laughed. "Anyway, because of that gig, I got to talk to a lot of jazz musicians, and I couldn't deny that it helped start my career. So I'm really glad to be back here. Thank you for having me." Everyone clapped, welcoming their homeboy. The blond looked at his watch. "Okay, since my five minutes is almost over, and I can see a tomato at the back. Please welcome _The Ninjas_ \-- Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and, of course, me."

Naruto disappeared for a second to grab his violin as his friend filed out onto the stage. The crowd clapped and cheered. Ino, the blonde-haired girl, took the mic. "Well, I've never thought of using a tomato on him before. Maybe I should start doing that." Again, people laughed. She smiled. "Let's start the night with something easy, shall we?"

They really did start out simple, a catchy jazz tune with Ino's voice singing gibberish as she swayed to the rhythm. Her voice sounded just like another instrument in the band -- not leading, not overpowering. The violin came in softly, like a besotted suitor to her melody. It was the kind of song Sasuke expected in a hotel bar rather than a concert, but as it turned out, it was just a warmup for the audience because in the next song _The Ninjas_ launched right into what they were good at -- a mix of music genres with jazz at its core. Ino even got to showcase her songwriting and vocal power when they reimagined one of her R &B songs as a blues. Chouji got a chance to go crazy with his drums in another reimagining of his metal song. Shikamaru's song was pretty tamed, but then again, bass wasn't the loudest of instruments. All these were interspersed between songs chosen from their studio album.

The longer the show went on, the more restless Sasuke became. The music was good and everything, and he was having a good time, but he was here to _see_ Naruto and he hadn't _seen_ him, yet. All the blond did so far was supporting his friends, doing a bit of solo and improvisation here and there but nothing of the height Sasuke _knew_ he could reach.

Sasuke was fiddling with his empty martini glass when Ino said something about the last song being from an old movie called _Casablanca._ He was willing to bet that some the wet-behind-the-ear college students in the crowd had no idea which movie she was talking about. Sasuke only knew it because his father loved it. He could never really get into it with the sentimentalities and all that, especially since the woman the protagonist got hung up on was clearly still in love with her husband. His father had just tutted and told him that Sasuke was too naïve about the matter of the heart. Well, that might be true, but he'd rather be naïve if it meant not over-complicating his life.

He was about ready for Ino to sing again when she, instead, walked over to the upright piano and began to play. She was a decent pianist, as Sasuke knew from the record, but she wasn't good enough to solo or improvise. So he knew this couldn't be her song, and his heart began to pound.

The first note of the violin, and Sasuke felt something inside him melt. Naruto swayed gently to the subdued rhythm as he let the instrument sing a melancholic tune -- now fast and then slow, lingering on a phrase, an idea. The song that was about the universality of love suddenly changed its meaning in a way Sasuke did not anticipated. _Love_ , the strings seemed to cry, _why do you escape me when you are everywhere I can see_. There was loneliness and pain and beauty in the way Naruto went from note to note, sustaining a few then powering through others. Ino's piano followed as if to console his angst only to have him run away to another wistful contemplation that felt so personal, so raw. Sasuke could only wondered why. Did something happened between Naruto and his lover? Or was it because there was no one? How could that even be possible for someone so sensitive and thoughtful?

The ending of the song had no resolution, no happy-ending. The hall was silent for what felt like forever after the last note had died, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Then a woman stood up, clapping as tears streamed down her face. The man next to her did as well, then the next and the next and the next, and soon the entire room was doing a standing ovation. Sasuke didn't. He didn't clap, either. He just couldn't move. His body was a ball of emotions that he was afraid might explode.

For a moment, he thought he shouldn't have come. Being in the same room with Naruto, feeling his energy, seeing how affected he was by the music, and how he, in turn, affected his audience, was more than Sasuke had bargained for. Naruto wasn't just a talented violinist or a talented musician; he was at a different level, a level Sasuke knew for a fact he could not reach. He wasn't the kind of guy who could be vulnerable and still able to command the song the way Naruto just did.

There was no topping that performance, and _The Ninjas_ seemed to know this. "Thank you so much. Thank you," Naruto said into the mic. Sasuke swore he saw tears in the blond's eyes. "I hope I didn't just ruin tonight for you guys." He chuckled nervously, but then some people started to whistle. The applause came back again, and Naruto seemed to be able to pull himself together. "Okay, so, in case you haven't noticed. We have some CD's in the back. Moegi is going to handle all those stuffs for you." A ginger girl waved as the blond said so. "Me and the guys will be out there shortly if you'd like autographs or a chat." Then he bowed. "Thank you again for tonight."

The cheers went on as _The Ninjas_ retreated backstage. A line started to form at the CD table right after. Sasuke got up then, placed the martini glass on the table, and walked to the side of the stage. He didn't really think of what he was doing right then and a part of him expected somebody to stop him, but no one did. The place was too small and too understaffed that Sasuke could just walked to the backstage area with absolutely no one noticing. He easily identified the dressing room door and opened it.

The three occupants in the room turned to him almost immediately, but they didn't seem too alarmed by his presence as Sasuke walked in, trying his best to keep his cool. "Is Naruto here?"

He hoped he sounded familiar enough to pass off as a friend and none of them called security. Shikamaru actually looked like he might do just that before his eyes suddenly widened. "Blimey," he muttered.

"Naruto, are you expecting someone?" Ino shouted as she approached another door in the back of the room, a closet perhaps, since the blond came out of it with his shirt still partly unbuttoned. He said no, saw Sasuke, promptly tripped on his own toes, and smacked him face onto the floor.

"Holy shit! Are you alright, man?" Chouji said as he helped his friend back up on his feet.

Naruto rubbed his nose. He looked up at the raven again, mouth agape, and croaked out,

"Uchiha Sasuke."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: the playlist
> 
> \- I actually based Sai’s career loosely on the chinese virtuoso Lang Lang and the pop star Jay Chou with his own twists and turns combined into the mix. The song he did with Kiba is based on the sounds that I think of quintessentially Jay’s (not that I know a lot about Chinese pop, mind you). Try, Nocturne, In the Name of the Father, Wounds of War, for example. The song Sai played with Naruto, however, is totally made up.
> 
> \- The song Ino scat is also fictional, but you can choose any Ella Fitzgerald's scat song for your playlist.
> 
> \- The song Naruto solo is based on Stephane Grappelli's rendition of As Time Goes By. The tone is very different from the original, I feel.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your kudos and comments! I’m really glad you guys like the story. Please enjoy this one as well. The playlist is down below.

Naruto rubbed his nose. He looked up at the raven, mouth agape, and croaked out,  

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke stood frozen as the syllable of his name fell out of the blond's mouth. Naruto _ knew _ him, or at least knew  _ of _ him, and Sasuke suddenly didn't know what to say. Now that he didn't have to introduce himself, what was he supposed to do? Do they still need to shake hands?

"We'll be out at the signing. Join us when you're done," he heard Shikamaru said somewhere from behind his back. Ino and Chouji quickly made their exit with the bassist, leaving just Naruto in the room. Emotions flitted across the blond's face as he stared at the closed door then at Sasuke, still too dumbfound to say anything.

For probably the first time in his life, Sasuke decided to start the civility first. "I like your show."

Naruto blinked at him, looking slightly startled. "Oh, thank you," he replied. His hand went up to scratched the back of his neck. "That's... that means a lot coming from you." Sasuke noticed Naruto's cheek turning a little red as he looked down and chuckled nervously. "Oh, god. This is so unreal right now."

"What is?" Sasuke asked.

"You being here, obviously," the blond said. He opened his mouth and, for awhile, seemed to have lost his words. "I'm going to sound really creepy, but I've listened to you since I was fifteen, and you're, like, the biggest influence in my life musically. I wouldn't have gotten serious with the violin without you, and--" He suddenly stopped himself and covered his face with both his hands, making seriously disturbing noises into them. And Naruto seemed to know this. "Sorry, sorry. I'm having a fan-boy moment. You must have gotten so tired of this."

The thing was no one had ever come up to Sasuke and said those kind of things. Usually, it was a polite smile, a handshake, a congratulation. Everyone had told him he was great. No one had ever told him that he inspired them to something. And, honestly, Sasuke didn't know what to do with himself, too taken aback and awashed with unfamiliar emotions to do much else. "I can sign a few CD's for you if you like," he offered, "if you'd sign some for me, too, that is."

Naruto peeked between his fingers, but even with just an obstructed view of his face, Sasuke could tell that he was elated. "I'll sign as many as you want, Sasuke. I can call you Sasuke, right?"

Sasuke decided that he liked Naruto saying his name very much. "Sure, Naruto."

He drawled on the name a little and watched as Naruto's eyes widened slightly and a blush crept up his face. He plunged face first into his hands again. "Oh, god. I'm massively uncool right now."

Sasuke couldn't help a smile creeping up his face. In the brief moment walking to this room, he had thought of many ways the scenario could have played out, all of them involving Naruto being either a god-like figure or the smooth performer that he was on stage. Not in a million years would Sasuke picture him geeking out like a schoolboy with a massive man-crush.

And he found that he liked it.

"Actually, shouldn't you go out and meet your fans?" he said, his voice regained. Now that he knew he wasn't the only one worked up by this meeting, he wasn't as nervous anymore.

Naruto finally looked up from squishing his face into his hands. "Geez, you're right." He rushed to the door, realizing just as he was about to open it that he wasn't properly dressed yet, and walked back to find a mirror. In the middle of putting his shirt into his pants, he looked up. "Err, you'll be around here for awhile, right?"

Sasuke didn't think he was going to, but there was no way he wouldn't now. "Sure." Naruto smiled back.

/***/

Sasuke followed the blond out to the club. Naruto was greeted with much enthusiasm by the crowd while Sasuke went unnoticed. He made his way to the bar, ordered another martini, and took a seat far away to observe the small mob going down on Naruto like vultures on a carcass. A good portion of them were college girls, coming to get both an autograph and to give him gifts. The blond was all smile and gratitude as different people walked up to him and said a variation of the same thing: I'm your biggest fan; I love your music; Can I please have a picture with you?

Called Sasuke cynical, but the raven was sure part of it wasn't the musicianship. It was the fact that Naruto was handsome: blond hair, blue eyes, a nice build with a boyish kind of charm. He was so down to earth people felt like they knew him, could touch him, could be his friend. And they all wanted a piece of him, maybe a second of direct attention, maybe a touch. One girl made eye contact with him and just burst into tears as Naruto tried to cheer her up and her friend took a video of the encounter.

Sasuke remembered those kind of encounters back in his first year of college when he was in between being the boy-wonder and not yet a genius virtuoso. Some air-heads would walk up to him on campus, claim to be his biggest fan, but couldn't even distinguish good playing from bad. Sasuke could play total gibberish, and they'd still say it was the best thing they'd heard. So by his second year, he pretty much told everyone to bugger off. Only Sakura stayed, but she was one of the few people who could hear the gibberish anyway.

It took over half an hour for the crowd to thin even as Moegi helped with managing the room, interrupting whenever someone took too much of Naruto's time. Just as they were about to wrap up the table, Sasuke walked over, bought a copy of every album Naruto had put out, and proceeded to the signing table.

Naruto was surprised to see him last in line. "I would have given you all of these for free, you know," he said as he began signing the first one.

"We're working people. Let's not do that," said Sasuke as he watched Naruto spelt his name out. "I also don't have all my CDs to give you."

The blond laughed. "That wouldn't be a fair trade, would it? I have four, and you've put out like, what, ten?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Something like that."

"That's a lot to sign, actually," said Naruto as finished the last one. "I suppose I should buy you a dinner or something if you're going to sign all of them."

Sasuke lifted his eyebrows at that. "You have all of them?"

The blond blushed hard.

"You have no idea, darling," Ino chimed in as she walked over to her friend, phone in hand. "So, apparently Sai and Gaara are having a debate over music theory at the piano, so nobody can start jamming yet. I'm going to have to go referee."

"Is that what you kids call it these days?" Shikamaru said. Ino stuck out her tongue. "And I thought we're going to chill out."

"You don't have to listen in when I ride him--"

"TMI!" Naruto shouted. "And Sasuke's here, you crude!"

"Awww, isn't it lovely? Naruto's protecting Sasuke's innocence." She winked at the raven. "I don't mind if you wanna join in."

"Ino!"

"Just kidding!" she said before typing something rapidly into her phone. "Okay, let's go before my boyfriend decides to stab someone."

/***/

Sasuke wasn't entirely sure what prompted him to join them. He was a classical musician. He didn't do jam, not the way jazz musicians did. And he hated social gathering anyway. But one look from Naruto, shy yet hopeful, made him step up. He promised to sign Naruto's copies of his CDs after all. This was just one stop on the way there.

He honestly didn't know what to expect, and he definitely did not expect them to pull up to the curb in front of an old suburban house in the middle of a very urban neighborhood. Sasuke learned in their short walk up to the porch that the house belonged to an old man, a writer of some description, who had been opening his door to musicians for decades. They had a renown jam session here once a week as a way for jazz musicians in town to chill and connect after hours. And apparently, Sai's row with another musician was holding back the jam.

"Sai, honey-bunny!" shouted Ino as soon as she poked her head into the busy living room. People parted way for her to the upright piano in the back corner where Sai was sitting next to a redhead in what by all appearance looked like a civil discussion. Sai turned to her and they exchanged a few words before she basically dragged both of them off the piano and into the kitchen.

"Thank god she's here," one guy said as he sipped from a can of beer and watched people getting ready to play. The red fang tattoo on his face jogged Sasuke's memory. He was the rapper at Sai's concert. "Those two had been going on about it for an hour now. It's tiring."

"Kiba, dude!" Chouji walked up to him and gave the man a side hug. "Welcome back! How was the tour?"

Kiba clasped his arm around Chouji's back in return before pulling back. "Draining. It's a like a military operation repeated over and over and over again. Sai's a bastard, too, but he pays well. Well, his record company pays well, anyway." He shrugged. "How about you folks? How are things this side of the music continent?"

"Slow and cheap as usual," said Naruto with a chuckle. "We've been touring a bit in different cities, everything low-key."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "The only reason it's low-key because you want it to be. You'd be conquering the world with Sai right now if you're not so chill."

Naruto just shook his head. "Nah, world domination's boring."

They laughed a little before Kiba's eyes settled on Sasuke. The man lifted his eyebrows. "Who's this?"

"Uchiha Sasuke," said Naruto, gesturing to him. "Classical violin."

"Nice," replied Kiba. They shook hands. "I’m Inuzuka Kiba. Vocal. Are you jamming, too? Or are you this guy's plus one?" He gestured to Naruto.

Sasuke was about to answer when suddenly there was a booming voice coming from the direction of the kitchen. "Uzumaki Naruto is in the house!?" And out came a man with long white hair looking forty years older than everyone else. Everyone made way for him as he stalked into the living room.

Naruto's smile brightened at the sight. He walked forward with his arms wide opened. "Jiraiya!" Then he launched himself at the old man in a full-body hug. "So good to see you."

"Stay put and you'll see me more often," said the old man before he released the blond, looking him up and down. "Not a day older than seventeen, are ya?"

Naruto laughed. "That is  _ not _ a compliment."

Jiraiya tutted. "Brat, you're supposed to say the same thing back."

"Uh-uh, not happening, old man."

At that, Jiraiya laughed heartily before turning to greet Chouji as well. Sasuke was about ready to go through the formalities when the man suddenly stopped, a grin spread on his face. "Well, I'll be damn. Isn't it Uchiha Sasuke himself?" At that, he grabbed Sasuke's proffered hand and gripped it tightly. He looked moved. "It's my honour to host you tonight. This bunch of unrefined buffoons could learn a lot from your musicality."

At this point, Sasuke's face was basically frozen into a polite smile. He honestly hadn't prepared to play anything let alone in a house party full of jazz heads. "I would be honoured to do so," he began, "but I don't have anything on me."

"Is that so? Do you need music sheets? I have plenty in my study since this one used to practice here when he was a brat," he gestured to Naruto who was looking wide-eyed at both of them. "Go on, Naruto, show your guest upstairs."

At that, the blond nodded and gestured for him to follow. They walked out of the loud and busy living room and down a much quieter hall. "I'm so sorry about that," he whispered as they climbed the creaking stairs. "The thing is jazz people have a repertoire we memorize for a jam session like this. Jiraiya probably thinks classical musicians do the same." He smiled apologetically. "I can tell him no if you're uncomfortable doing it."

Sasuke would rather not play, but he did kind of say he would, and he didn't want to go back on his words just five minutes after he had said it. "Let's have a look at those sheets first."

As it turned out, Jiraiya did have quite a collection of classical music sheets in his house despite not playing an instrument himself. Naruto smiled sheepishly and admitted that they were all his. "I used to live up the road in a student accommodation. There wasn't much space there for practice, so Jiraiya graciously offered his house for my use." He sighed as he looked over a shelf worth of notes -- some of them in hand-me-down books, some printed, some photocopied and put into folders -- arranged in no particular order. Sasuke pulled one of the folders and was surprised by the name on the cover: Tartini's Violin Sonata in G minor 'Devil's Trill'.

"That's very ambitious," He muttered as he flipped the folder open and stopped. Slipped in between the cover and the first page was a pamphlet of a tour he did ages ago. He looked like a boy then, just nineteen in a black shirt and black pants posing with his violin as if in the middle of playing a violent piece. The hard light cast a shadow behind that looked ominous, like a silhouette of a devil. He remembered his parents disliking his sudden shift in persona and his fondness for dark Baroque music. He had been in his first year of college, finally independent from his family, and with a lot of teenage angst he hadn't sort through. Playing the Devil's Trill Sonata as his crowning piece hadn't just felt appropriate; it had felt true to who he had been at that time.

He looked up and found Naruto staring at the folder, conflicting emotions on his face. "I didn't managed it," he whispered. "I could barely play the third movement let alone the fourth. I'm just not as good as you." At that, he smiled -- uncertain and with a lot of self-deprecation. He looked like the opposite of the Naruto Sasuke saw on the stage. "Anyway, I should have realized that there’s no way I can imitate you at your best. It was a fool's errand to begin with."

Sasuke felt a flush of heat ran over him. True that it wasn't the first time someone complimented him on playing the piece. After all, it was that performance that had silenced all the critics who had thought he had been just a sold-out boy-wonder. However, Devil's Trill Sonata hadn't gone down well with the listening public. They could tell that he was technically gifted, but they were also bewildered by the emotional variations in Tartini's fifteen-minute-long piece. In the end, as much as Sasuke had loved the song, he never played it again after the tour. "I can't play it now, either," he said, and he didn't just say it for consolation. Playing the piece took a lot of practice and a lot of stamina to give it the intensity it needed in the last movement. This was not a piece someone could just pick up and play. None of the great violin pieces were, but some were more familiar than others. "Do you have a Paganini's?"

/***/

Sasuke had played Paganini's Caprice No. 24 more times than he cared to count. A few years back, it was his encore, but he changed it after he discovered how many classical violinists were using it as a show-off piece. If there ever was a standard for violin solo, this was one of them, perfectly straddling the fine balance of being difficult enough for the experts to appreciate but still palatable for the general audience.

The number of times he had already played it didn't make it any less nerve-wracking to perform. The fact that the audience wasn't classical-music fanatics didn't matter. If he screwed up, they'd still know he'd screwed up. And Sasuke hated people knowing he screwed up. As a child, he feared the snickers of his prodigy classmates who were hanging onto his every note to find that one flaw in his playing. As an adult, he feared becoming mundane, just another violinist aspiring to be Paganini but never reaching his perfection.

He could feel his palms sweating even as he walked up to the band area set up in the back of the living room. Jiraiya had graciously suspended the jam session, probably after some explanation from Naruto, so that Sasuke could have a solo all to himself. He put up the stand, laid out all the music sheets for the Caprice, and tried out the violin. Naruto had let him borrow the beautiful 18th-century creation, the sound sweet as a voice of an angel. He only hoped Naruto was going to forgive him for what he was going to put her through.

The room went quiet when Sasuke took a deep breath and poised his bow on the strings, pausing there for a second as all attention focused on him. Then his bow struck -- short, sharp, and clean -- as the fingers on his left hand danced to Paganini's demand -- loud then soft, sliding then striking, repetitive then entirely too disparate . He could see bafflement on many of the faces as he went from variation to variation. For people who was used to one constant rhythm throughout a piece, it must have felt like being jerked around by the collar in a roughhousing.

The one person who surely wasn't confounded was Naruto. Those intense blue eyes stared straight at him, following Sasuke's hands as they moved, absolutely immersed, and Sasuke suddenly found the need to play faster, harder, better as his left fingers plucked the strings and his right striking the bow down in rapid successions. The tune slowed down again afterward, tender and sweet, before the finale where he attacked the instrument with enough rigor to make it  _ scream _ .

The final note, high enough to make ears bleed, faded into silence. Sasuke gathered his breath in the now eerily quiet room. Ecstasy flushed his body just as it did every time he did a fiendishly difficult solo, but it felt even more so given that he didn't practice this piece in ages. At this point, he honestly didn't care if no one but Naruto and Sai got it. He was elated.  

Then a clap started, slow at first before it spread around the room. He looked up and found Sai with his trademark grin nodding at him. "Good to see that you still have it." Sasuke glared at him at his not so concealed jibe. Apparently, their rivalry was still firmly intact.

"That was really cool," said Kiba. He jabbed Naruto with his elbow. "I think your time as the King of the Bow is coming to an end, my friend."

"A cutting contest!" Someone cheered. Others showed their supports with hoots.

Naruto just laughed at all this. "Don't be ridiculous, guys. There's no contest here at all." Then he turned to Sasuke, and the raven's breath caught in his throat as Naruto's expression turned soft and tender. "I can never beat that." There were more hoots and jeers, but Sasuke honestly could not hear anything over the thundering of his own heart.

/***/

The insistent buzz stirred him from his sleep. His temple throbbed from a telltale sign of a hangover. Sasuke reached for his phone, pulled it up to his face, and pressed answer. "Hello?"

" _ Sasuke, where are you? _ " Sakura's voice came through from the other side of the line. She sounded agitated, and Sasuke frowned. He was going to tell her he was in his bed when he suddenly realized that this wasn't his bedroom. The curtain swinging just above him was too light and white to be the one he chose for total darkness. The room was also painted beige instead of the greyish Cambridge blue. He quickly rolled onto his stomach and propped himself up only to be facing a row of small potted plants on the window sill. Definitely not his apartment. Moreover, he wasn't wearing any pajamas, not something he usually did, and his shirt and suit were discarded haphazardly on the floor.

Slowly, the memory came back to him. He had done the solo and then made his escape to the kitchen to get drinks. He had needed a moment to calm himself down so he could look at Naruto again without butterflies in his stomach. He was a man with three decades behind him, but this was the first time he had a crush, and he crushed  _ hard _ .

But Naruto hadn't left him alone for long. The blond had come into the kitchen on an excuse of getting a drink but then lingered on. With the liquid courage in abundance, the conversation had flown more smoothly than Sasuke had anticipated, and before he had known it, they were back in the living room, squished into each other on a packed couch as they drank and watched the jam. Naruto had told him things about jam and jazz and what not. He didn't remember at which point exactly they had taken a taxi back to Naruto's place. He remembered vaguely the tower of CDs he had wanted to sign but couldn't because his hand hadn't been cooperating anymore after so many drinks. And then Naruto had pulled him into the bedroom, saying something Sasuke couldn't remember, and--

The cover next to him moved and out from underneath poked a blond puff of hair and a single sleepy blue eye looking at him. Sasuke had to will his jaw to not drop as Naruto rolled his shoulder, stretching his arm out, and yawned.

" _ Hello? Sasuke? Are you okay? _ " Sakura's voice turned a little frantic after his rather long silence.

Sasuke gathered his scattered brain cells and said, "I'm at Naruto's."

There was a short stretch of silence. " _ You're at whose? _ "

Did Sakura need him to repeat this? "Naruto. You know, the violinist."

"Who's that?" asked blond. His voice hoarse from sleep launched a lump into Sasuke's throat.

"Sakura, my PA," Sasuke said, still no reply from the other side. "Are you still there?"

" _ Yeah, I just don't know what to say right now, _ " she said, sounding genuinely befuddled. " _ I mean, I can congratulate you for living recklessly for once, but then it's already ten years too late for that. _ "

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Get on with the business then."

Sakura sighed. " _ Sure. I just wanna remind you of the meeting this afternoon, which is-- _ " A pause. " _ \-- in two hours actually. _ "

Two hours. His eyes went to the digital clock by Naruto's bedside. It was ten fifteen. He was supposed to meet a conductor over lunch to talk about their upcoming project. His apartment was in another part of town, and he had nothing but yesterday's crumbled up suit to wear.

"Something's wrong?" asked Naruto as he propped up on one elbow, a frown on his handsome face, but all Sasuke could concentrate on was how the duvet was moving even lower down his very naked torso.

"I have a business meeting in two hours, and I don't think I'm going to make it," the raven mumbled. As much as, he disliked these meetings, he wouldn't just up and cancel it. He needed to maintain a professional relationship with these people to get work in the future.

"Where?" Sasuke gave the address. "If you go from here, it's just half an hour."

"I don't have anything to change into."

"Get your PA to bring some here. You can use my shower," said the blond as he moved even closer to Sasuke, reaching out. "Here, let me talk to her." Sasuke didn't know what possessed him, but he did hand his phone over and let Naruto arrange everything with Sakura, including texting her his address and phone number. For a moment, Sasuke was miffed that his best friend should be getting Naruto's contact before he did.

That was until he realized that Naruto sent all those from  _ his _ phone, and Sasuke's brain broke.

/***/

When Sasuke came out of the shower in Naruto's t-shirt and shorts, he was greeted with the smell of coffee, toasts, bacons, and eggs. Naruto, now having at least a t-shirt on him along with a pair of shorts, was in front of the stove doing the frying-up, giving Sasuke the perfect chance to ogle all he wanted.

"It's almost ready," said the blond as he looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Grab yourself some painkiller if you want. I know I'd want some."

Sasuke, instead, poured himself a cup of coffee. "What about you? How are you feeling?"

Naruto shrugged. "A mild headache, but otherwise I'm fine." He said that then drank some more water. Sasuke poured him a mug of coffee to go with it. "Wow, thanks."

It was Sasuke who felt like he couldn't thank Naruto enough. If he could sign all the CDs twice and a half, he would have done it. "Any plans for today?"

"Nah, just taking it easy," replied the blond as he scooped the eggs into the plates, two each. "We're taking a bit of a break this week before doing the rest of the tour. After eight cities in a row, I feel like I need to sit down. I'm not young anymore." He chuckled, then he put two toasts on the side of each plate and popped the bacons on top. "There! Breakfast's ready."

Sasuke took a plate quietly, observed that he could get a heart attack from it, but decided that salad was overrated anyway. They moved to the living room where the stack of CDs was still standing from last night, waiting for Sasuke's autographs. They carefully moved it aside before settling down side by side on the couch.

"So, what's your plan for the week?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke hummed, trying to remember his schedule. "After this meeting, I'll be flying out to my alma mater. They want me to talk to the music students about the classical music business and give an intensive workshop to the violin major." He sighed. "It's going to take about three weeks."

There was a silence as Naruto tried to nail a piece of egg on his plate. "Wow, that's a commitment."

Sasuke just shrugged. "It's not as complicated as going on a tour, I feel. At least, it's a few weeks in the same place with the same people."

"True." Finally, the blond was able to get the egg into his mouth. "I didn't know you teach as well."

Sasuke grunted. "Not usually. I hate it." Naruto chuckled at that, and Sasuke couldn't help the smile creeping up one side of his face. "The only fun part is smacking their egos and then let the actual teachers do the rest of the work."

"Meanie."

"That's how the professors over there pitched it to me, actually."

Naruto's smile broadened. "Oh, boy. I don't know how I'd survive a music school that intense."

Sasuke hummed. "So it's not like that here?"

There was another stretch of silence, but there was no more egg for Naruto to push around. He just stared as he chewed. "I never finished college, actually."

Sasuke stared at him.

"I attended it for a year and a half," Naruto continued, now poking at the bacons. "The music school and music industry here are great, and that was why I wanted so badly to be here, but I struggled a lot. I never was a good student to begin with, and all I wanted to do was to play the violin and jam with people." He paused for a bit, finally getting a bacon on his fork. "And after awhile of knowing Jiraiya and Tsunade and talking and jamming with everyone under the sun, I started getting steady gigs and steady money, so I thought, why bother with school, you know. It's not like I want to teach music theory. I just want to play." He shrugged. "That's what I did."

Sasuke nodded. Thinking back, his own decision to attend a music school at the college level looked kind of odd. He  _ was _ Uchiha Sasuke after all. He had had steady gigs since sixteen. He had known a lot of people in the industry, conductors and musicians who wanted to work with him, although he had always been terrible at managing those relationships. He had music theory and all the fundamentals crammed down his throat by Orochimaru from the earliest age he could sit down and listen. He never wanted to teach or stamp his name on a music school. He just played.

Well, no, Sasuke knew exactly why he had attended the school -- it had been the only way his parents would let him have a life of his own. Both his mother and father had been micromanaging his existence since the moment they had realized their son had a talent, as if they had predicted the storm early success could bring into his life and built a wall around him from that moment onward. Sasuke was grateful of all the protection his family had given him growing up, but at one point he just couldn't hide behind them anymore. His only chance to be normal had been to fly across the country to attend the best music school there was and learned the ropes like other students. But, of course, his time there hadn't been like other students'. He was Uchiha Sasuke after all. Even as he had tried to blend in, he had stood apart too much to do so.

"Do you still jam a lot?" Sasuke asked before sipping his coffee.

Naruto shook his head. "Not as much any more. Here's fine, but elsewhere people either want to cut me or listen to me. They are too intimidated to play with me." A sad smile flitted across his face before he shrugged. "I guess that's why jazz musicians like having a band. Aside from getting gigs, it's good to have a steady group of people to play with."

Sasuke hummed. He wondered how it felt to be a part of something like that, to have people both depending on and supporting him. He wouldn't want to do that with complete strangers because egos could do quite a bit of damage, as Sai demonstrated last night when he tried to jam. But what if it was a group of people he could trust? How would that change the way he played?

Sakura came knocking right then. She gave Sasuke the change of clothes and Naruto got the stink eyes as she looked him up and down. The raven honestly dreaded leaving just these two in the room in case Sakura decided to interrogate Naruto. She was too much like his mother in that regard, always suspicious of people approaching him. He changed quickly and dragged her out at the first opportunity, but not before promising Naruto that next time he  _ would _ sign all the CDs.

Naruto smiled warmly at that before pulling out the Baroque collection from the pile. "Just this one is fine," he said. Sasuke signed it. He never felt such hesitation in doing something in his life. By fulfilling his promise, his reason for being in Naruto's presence would end, and he didn't want it to end.

His only hope was that Naruto felt the same way as he took the CD back, not looking as happy as Sasuke thought he would have been. "Thanks," he said, staring down at the squiggle that was Sasuke's name. "It's an honour to meet you."

He hated how those words came out of Naruto's mouth, as if everything was over. "The pleasure's all mine," he said, racking his brain for something else to say, something that would mean they would meet again and soon.

"You know," Naruto began tentatively, "if you ever want to try jamming--"

Sasuke's heart basically leaped into his mouth, and he said without a second thought, "Of course."

Naruto blinked at him.

"Maybe not at Jiraiya's yet."

"Oh, of course, not," the blond said. "Give me a call whenever you feel like it."

"Sure," Sasuke said, feeling the weight suddenly lifted off his shoulders, "and thank you."

Naruto smiled at him again with that tender smile that melted Sasuke's inside. "Pleasure's all mine."

Sasuke was walking on clouds all the way down to Sakura's car. He got in and stared quietly out the window as the car pulled away, his brain replayed their conversation over and over and over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, Naruto’s carrying a torch rather than holding a candle. :P Now to the playlist!
> 
> \- Although not played in the story, I took Anne-Sophie Mutter's rendition of Tartini's Violin Sonata in G minor 'Devil's Trill' as the inspiration.
> 
> \- I was listening to many versions of Paganini's Caprice No. 24, but mostly I watched David Garrett's because I get to see how he played.
> 
> Also, a side knowledge, cutting contest is essentially a jazz duel to see who plays better. It's tied in very closely with a jam, both being intrinsic to the communal part of jazz.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! The last chapter is here. I feel like it has a different pace than the previous two (and a lot longer), but I’m not sure why. Please let me know if you think that’s the case.
> 
> Also, warning for OOC Konan. I needed a sassy nosy-aunt type but couldn’t think of one in Naruto. (Karin could have been it if she’s, you know, twenty years older or something.) My apology to Konan fans for that.

Sasuke's first experience with dating was with Sakura. They had been in the second year of college, and she was the first and only woman Sasuke had felt any connection to. Naïve as he had been at that age, he had thought it was a sign that they should pursue a relationship. He still didn't know until this day why Sakura had agreed, but they had gone out together officially for six months before deciding that the intimacy between them really hadn't worked. Somehow, they still managed to be friends afterwards and for that Sasuke was grateful. He had never been good with social interactions and having someone familiar as his business partner had been a blessing even though they fought over the silliest of things.

His brief romance with Sakura had also come with a revelation. It was then that Sasuke had figured out that he might not be as straight as he had first thought. That had led to another brief and ill-advised relationship with a shark-faced cellist who had just loved to rile Sasuke up at every occasion. To be honest, he wouldn't call it a relationship per se. Most of the time they just fucked. There really hadn't been much that Sasuke liked about Suigetsu aside from his dick and how he had used it. After five months, an unhealthily long time, Suigetsu had told him that he had a girlfriend and so they couldn't do it anymore. Sasuke had been fine with it, and Suigetsu had disappeared from his life soon afterwards.

His third relationship happened the year after he graduated college. His professor had asked him to take a residency with an orchestra for a few months. It was a long time for a virtuoso like Sasuke, but he supposed his teacher had tried to give him an opportunity to figure out his life, so he took it. There, he had met Juugo, a quiet and gentle man. If Sasuke was going to be honest with himself, he had had sex with Juugo because the man let him get his way. In other words, Sasuke had been a selfish piece-of-shit and Juugo had given him what he wanted -- the steady support with just the right amount of distance. They had ended it once Sasuke's contract had ended and he had decided to move on with his life. This time, it had been Sasuke who walked away.

After that there had been no one. He fully acknowledged that he had trust issues, as Sakura put it, but at least he had been honest. He made no promise to Juugo and no demand to Suigetsu. Sex was easier to deal with, but even then he needed to know the person enough to trust that they wouldn't sell the dirt to the tabloids. He had been lucky with all his previous partners, but he hadn't felt like trying his luck being too busy to get to know anyone well. His parents had been disappointed at his unflinching single status and wished for him to settle down with someone, anyone. At this point, they no longer cared if he was gay or not, just whether he could hold down a long-term relationship at all.

How then had it took him less than six hours to fall into bed with Uzumaki Naruto?

Sasuke had never shared a bed with anyone. His bedroom had been the only place that no one would bother him and, hence, had become somewhat of a personal territory. He hadn't even felt comfortable staying the night with Sakura even though she was the closest person to him outside of his family. For some reason, Naruto didn't freak him out the way others had. Maybe it was because they hadn't had sex and so there had been no expectation of emotional intimacy, something Sasuke knew he was terrible at. Maybe it was because Naruto hadn't made a big deal about it, just two people sharing a sleeping space. Maybe it was because Naruto spoke the same emotional language as Sasuke -- in music. And Sasuke had to wonder what would it be like to have a conversation with Naruto violin to violin.

But he was getting ahead of himself. He was a long way away from home with another week of terrorizing students and an evening recital to contend with. Naruto was off somewhere, winning a small portion of the world with his music. Even with their promise, it would still be a long time before they got to meet again in person.

And Sasuke didn't like it.

"The music sheets are going to catch fire if you keep staring at it," came the voice of his violin professor Konan, also the very person choosing the songs for Sasuke's recital. For some unknown reason, she decided to choose the one he flunked in his college years.

"Might as well, since you'd need to choose a different one then," he replied.

Konan tutted him. "Sasuke, if I choose a technically challenging piece, it won't be challenging for you, will it? You've gotten dark, hard, and fast down pretty much since you were in school."

And that was true. As his advisor, Konan knew his strengths and weaknesses very well. She knew he had already reached the height of his technicality when he reached twenty. It wasn't the technicality that was challenging for Sasuke, it was the emotional interpretation. Debussy's 'La Plus que Lente' was even a tougher one since all Konan had done in her class was showing them a picture of Camille Claudel's 'La Valse' sculpture, reportedly Debussy's inspiration for the piece. Sasuke had been doubly horrified to learn that all of the students had had to play the same song, which had meant there had been nothing for Sasuke to hide behind.

The thing was Konan and Orochimaru had opposite approaches to music. Orochimaru was an intellectual and technically gifted player. He could dissect a piece line by line and show Sasuke exactly how it should be played and to what effect. Konan wasn't like that. She asked for an emotional understanding of a piece, of thinking about how the music should  _ feel _ . Konan never told any of her students how to play anything. She asked them to find it. Sasuke had racked his brain for a month for  _ anything _ but eventually failed. As a result, he had the blandest performance in his life in front of all his classmates, and he hated the piece for it.

And if he hadn't been able to do it then, he didn't see how he could do it now in a couple of days time. Even as he went through the piece to jog his memory, he could feel a growing dissatisfaction inside him. It wasn't working, and he didn't know how to make it work, and this time he was going to be humiliated in front of some fresh-faced kids ten years his junior.

Then suddenly a blurred memory came back to him, something Naruto had told him about how terrified he had been in his first jam and about learning to let go, to not overthinking things and go with what felt right. He remembered Naruto flipping around the classic love song into a question. He remembered the agony he had felt in that piece.  _ Love, why must you be so difficult to find? _ But it wasn't like that for everyone, was it? The lucky ones were blessed with love's joy even for a short while. The two figures in 'La Valse' danced across his mind, the woman as if falling into the man's embrace as he leaned into her. They were falling into each other, falling in love.

He held that image in his mind as he began the tender intro of the song. The two lovers seemed to dance around each other, faster then slower as the music guided them. There was joy, yes, but also uncertainties quenched only by the touch of the other. They parted then came back, finding security in each other, finding peace in waking up in the morning next to each other, in sharing a pot of coffee, in knowing that even when they were gone, they would be back together to share the dance with each other again.

And Sasuke wanted to open that door again, to see Naruto again, to share his coffee on his couch again. Maybe this time they could play the violin together and laughed about their mistakes. And maybe Naruto would pull him back to that same beige-colored bedroom, and they could fall into bed together, and this time Sasuke would remember how Naruto looked falling asleep by his side.

The song ended with a high note, piercing into the heaven like a prayer. And Sasuke never felt like he had wanted something more in his life. If Naruto was there, he would probably throw himself at the blond by now. But how could he know if Naruto would catch him? How could he be sure that Naruto felt the same way and had not been not just a polite host or a good friend or even a grateful fan?

His train of thought was interrupted by an applause. He looked up, and Konan was looking at him with a proud smile on her face. "That was beautiful," she said. "You have found it, then."

He blinked at her. "Found what?"

"Love," she said, "or rather someone you love."

A blush crept up his cheeks. "I don't see how that's relevant."

Konan gave him a long-suffering look. "Uchiha Sasuke, you know well the very reason you were rubbish at playing 'La Plus que Lente'," she said. "Technically, it was perfect but it lacked passion, and I don't mean the one you find in a good lay." Sasuke's eyes dart to her face, horrified by the subject. Konan looked like she was about to laugh. "We're all grown-ups here, Sasuke. And it's not like you didn't have a lover at the time."

Sasuke didn't know if his complexion could get any paler than it already was. The thought that his teacher had known about his sex life was all kind of disturbing. "I'd rather not talk about this."

And Konan indulged him. "Sure. That's not the point anyway." She paused. "What do you know about 'La Valse' and Camille Claudel?"

The raven blinked at that. "Claudel was Rodin's student and lover, and 'La Valse' was probably inspired by their relationship."

"Succinct, as always," said Konan as she nodded. "Did you know that Debussy had also pursued Claudel?" Sasuke blinked again, and Konan took it correctly as a no. She continued, "So, one way of reading 'La Valse' and 'La Plus que Lente' is to see them as desires unfulfilled. That's why you didn't get it the first time. You never had anything that you desperately wanted but couldn't have." At that, her lips twisted in a mischievous upward turn. "So, tell me, Sasuke, who is this desire unfulfilled of yours?"

Sasuke swallowed as he tried to prevent another blush coming up his cheeks. "It's not like that. We're..." friends? Could Sasuke even call them friends? They just met one evening, went on a wild ride, and promised to meet each other again. Did that count as anything at all?

"Did the person reject you?" Konan asked quietly.

"No. It's just... He didn't say anything."

"Hmm. Am I sensing your tendency to blame other people for your misery coming back again?"

Sasuke glared at her. Honestly, he was done with that ages ago.

"Have you asked him?"

The palms of his hands instantly sweated. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, have you in anyway indicated that you're interested in him? Maybe he's waiting for a sign from you, Sasuke -- a very,  _ very _ clear sign. I'm guessing that you've been running away from an emotionally-charged situation again, haven't you?"

He kind of hated coming back to his school because of this. His teacher seemed to think he was still twenty and fucked-up in the head. "I didn't run, Konan. I have an obligation here and he has his obligation somewhere else. We can't meet, that's all."

Konan sighed. "That's why I said you're running away. Do you have his number?"

Sasuke paused. "Yes?"

"Then call him." He stared at her. "About anything -- ask him about his day, if he likes the food, if things are going well. Show him some love that's more than you two having s--"

Sasuke really did run out then, not wanting to hear the end of that sentence. Honestly, talking to Konan could be more horrifying than talking to his own mother.

/***/

Thanks to Konan, Sasuke spent his time that night fiddling with his phone and very nearly having a mental breakdown. He drafted a text with some variation of 'How are things going?', then his nerve would overrule him and he deleted the text, thinking it was rubbish, only to try again and now thinking it was more rubbish than the last one. Then he deleted it again. Then he got angry with himself deleting it because he was a thirty-something-year-old adult. He should not be agonizing over a short text message like he was some lanky teenager with a crush. So he typed 'How are things going?' and stared at it, and the entire process repeated itself again.

He was about to give up and leave it for tomorrow when suddenly his phone buzzed and a text appeared, coming from an unknown number.

_ Hi this is Ino. _

Sasuke stared at it. Then another ping came.

_ I steal ur # from Naruto's phone. Pls don't tell him. :P _

Maybe he should have been worried about Ino being some kind of a stalker, but the only thing his brain could process was Naruto  _ had _ his number! Sneaky bastard!

Then why didn't he contact Sasuke these past two weeks?

It took awhile for an large audio file to pop up followed by a message. _ Pls, pls, pls listen to this. _

Although reluctant, Sasuke did tap on the audio, and the most beautiful sound of a violin filled his room. Sasuke's heart danced in his chest. It was Naruto's. He could recognize it anywhere.

The recording started in the middle of a song. The lone voice of Naruto's violin made the longing in the notes even more heartbreaking. With every high notes, it seemed to cry out into the silence, the emptiness. To what? For whom? The improvisation didn't give him any answer as Naruto went through it at a pace -- questioning, yearning, doubting -- before going back to the same tune. The melody cut Sasuke's heart to pieces.

When the song finally ended, the recording didn't. There was no sound for a while until Ino spoke. " _ Wow, that's... something else. _ "

A quiet thank-you was the reply, but Naruto didn't say anything else. Sasuke could hear him absentmindedly plucking the strings.

" _ You miss him, huh? _ " Shuffling.  _ "Oh, c'mon. You think I don't notice you staring into space oh-so often after that night. _ "

_ "It's nothing." _ He didn't sound convincing.

Ino sighed.  _ "Don't insult me, Uzumaki Naruto. In the twenty five years I've known you, you only act like this when you miss someone close to you." _

There was another pause before Naruto said,  _ "I don't think you can call us close. I only met him that evening." _

_ "But you've chased after him all your life -- musically, I mean." _

_ "That's....that's the part I don't...I don't know, Ino."  _ He sounded frustrated, but then he laughed nervously. " _ People say don't meet your hero, right? Because they're only going to disappoint you. It wasn't like that with him at all. He's  _ better _ than anything I could ever imagine. And I'm scared that I'm just seeing things because I want him to like me so da--" _

Sasuke had to stop the recording because his heart felt like it was going to literally come out of his throat. Naruto liked him, and he wanted Sasuke to like him back. He didn't know how to handle all the emotions rushing through him at that realization. He felt like he might just explode.

But Sasuke's hindbrain seemed to decide that for him. Before he knew it, his thumb went to Naruto's name in the contact list and pressed call.

Just as quickly, the ringtone went silent and instead a bewildered voice came through. " _ Hello? _ "

Sasuke all but froze then. What time was it again? Was Naruto sleeping? Did he interrupt something? "I hope I didn't wake you up."

" _ No, no. I was just...umm...listening to something. It's nothing. Err...What's up? _ "

Sasuke racked him brain for an answer but nothing really came forth. He really should have thought it through before he pressed that call button. "It's nothing. I just...umm," then he decided to take the fall, "I miss you."

There was a stretch of silence where the only thing he heard was Naruto's breaths. _"Sasuke."_ His name came out like a prayer, and he had to bite his lips to prevent himself from making any sound. Naruto chuckled. " _I didn't expect that, honestly."_

The relief in Naruto's voice made a smile crept up Sasuke's face. "I didn't expect that, either. I don't usually miss people."

_ "Really? Sounds like you're a heartbreaker." _

"Kind of," was his reply then realized that he might not have given the best impression with that statement. "When I was younger, I mean. I don't do that anymore." There was a hum from the other side of the line, and he thought Naruto sounded satisfied. "When are you back in town?"

_ "In a month, I think. There's this music festival we're going to that's going to take a while because Ino wants to stay after the show. _ "

"Does it mean I will have to miss you for another month then?"

Sasuke didn't know why he suddenly turned cheeky, and he would have been mortified if Naruto didn't outright laugh in joy. " _ Oh, god. You're going to make me take this the wrong way, Sasuke. _ "

He took a deep breath before he said, "I don't think you could." Yet again, another silence, but his nerves was too much to wait for it to end. "Is it okay if I text you once in a while?"

" _ You can text me more than once in a while, _ " came the reply, and Sasuke's heart skip a beat. A noise came through from the other side and he heard Naruto said, " _ I have to go. I've been outvoted. We're going in town tonight. _ "

"It's okay. Have fun," Sasuke said before Naruto wished him a good night and the call ended. And just like that Sasuke fell onto his bed, smiling at the ceiling like a moron. His heart didn't stop dancing for hours afterward.

/***/

After much agonizing over what to say, Sasuke finally sent his first text. It was, in fact, a recording of his recital performance of 'La Plus que Lente' courtesy of Konan. As unusual as the choice might be, he just felt that it said things better than he could do in words. And he let the file sat there between them, hoping it was enough.

He was beginning to think that it wasn't enough after a long silence from Naruto. Sasuke tried not to take it too personally, though, because he knew how hard the life in the music industry could be. Naruto was probably busy with travelling, with his shows, with his fans, with meeting people and creating new opportunities that he didn't yet have time to reply. For some reason, that thought, as rational as it was, also left Sasuke unsatisfied.

When Naruto did get back to him, it was nothing but a buzz in his pocket as he was giving the last critiques to the students. The vibration temporarily surprised and delighted him, but he had to put that thought aside as he went on with his work slapping egos out of these young, growing music talents.

But as soon as the session was adjourned, Sasuke whipped up his phone. Instead of a message, he found an audio file, and his heart raced as he pulled out his earbuds and plugged it in.

The song started with a clean single note before launching into the melody, occasionally slowing down and stopping before speeding up again. After a while, Sasuke could almost hear the beat, a gentle sway behind the tune and the improvisation. It sounded almost like a slow dance, and his cheeks heated at the thought of him and Naruto slow dancing to a song so intimate.  _ I'm here, _ the violin seemed to say as its sound engulfed him, playful and soothing -- loving. And Sasuke couldn't find it in him to be irritated by Naruto's delayed reply.

He didn't even know he had closed his eyes until the song ended and another voice jolted him out of his headspace. "Sasuke?" He looked up, and Konan was watching him, a little curious. "Are you okay?"

Sasuke tried his best not to keep his face straight as he stood up, as if booted out of the chair. "I'm fine," he said, taking out his earbuds and unplugging it. In his haste, his finger must have hit play because the sound of Naruto's violin started playing out of the speaker, and Sasuke blushed hard.

Konan raised her eyebrows. She looked genuinely impressed by what she heard before he turned it off. She smiled. "I take that your little message went down well?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know." It was just a song after all. It could mean a lot of thing.

Konan didn't seem to think so, though. "Really? From what I'm hearing, he sounds like he wants to be  _ very _ up-close and personal with you."

At that, Sasuke grabbed his violin case and his jacket and made the run for it.

/***/

He blamed Konan for putting ideas into his head. Now he couldn't listen to Naruto's song without imagining them in seriously intimate situations. He knew it might be all in his head, that he heard Naruto wanting him because Sasuke wanted him. It was a dangerous guessing game he was playing as he listened to the song over and over and over again.

So he committed the exact sin he accused Naruto of doing: making him wait. The problem was that Sasuke didn't know any song that could match the tenderness of the song Naruto had sent him. Konan was right when she said his expertise was in dark, hard, and fast. The more emotional ones in his repertoire mostly came from her, but nothing he had played matched how he was feeling at all.

So he spent the time on the plane back racking his brain and the entertainment console for anything that might marginally work. He scrolled and listened until he came across a cello piece with piano accompaniment that was transcribed from Camille Saint-Saëns's 'Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix'. Sasuke didn't normally listen to aria, feeling them too repetitive melody-wise for him to find them interesting. But desperate time called for desperate measure. He hit play, and that had been the best decision in his life.

That was the first thing he did when he got back to his apartment was to rush into his office and started searching for all things 'Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix' online. He was surprised by how popular the aria was for vocalists and decided to sample some to see how they sang it. He went through the translation of the lyrics to understand what it meant, and then went back to the cello piece to see how they all fitted in. The sound of the cello crooned in the background as if speaking to a lover, beseeching, drawing him or her in.  _ Come to me, _ the music was saying _ , Forget all others and be mine. _

It took a long time for him to put his thoughts into the sound of the violin. Composition really wasn't his strongest point, or even arrangements for that matter, and he would happily admit to that any time of the day. And that had been what he admired so much about Naruto's playing. Naruto could say whatever he wanted on the fly, improvising on top of the melody in a way that touched people more deeply than Sasuke ever could. Sasuke had to think about what he wanted to play, had to plan all his moves out in advance, for him to feel comfortable playing at all. And he couldn't help wondering how Naruto did it so effortlessly.

The curtains in his office were closed, so he had no sense of time as he transcribed and then rearrange the melody for a violin solo. He ate when he felt hungry, stopped for washroom when he needed to, and slept when he was tired. It might have been days before Sakura turned up at his office door. Worry marred her face. "What are you doing?"

Her eyes went to his room, and probably for the first time, Sasuke looked around his office and truly saw it for what it was. Handwritten notes and staff papers were scattered on his desk. His violin was placed on top of printed music sheets. A pile of crumpled up papers were in, on, and around the waste basket. 'Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix' played in the background. "Personal project," he finally said. "I'm transcribing the aria to a violin solo."

Sakura just stared at him. "But you don't like opera."

"That's why it's not operatic--"

"No," Sakura interjected, "what I mean is that you don't care for any music from any opera. Why transcribe something you don't like? You can choose a lot of other things."

Sasuke bit the inside of his mouth. That was true. There were symphonies and concertos that he could arrange for a solo, but this was different. Those solo had always been about showing what he was made of, proving to everybody else that he deserved the title of a genius. This solo wasn't for that. This solo needed to speak things for Sasuke he hadn't thought he would say and to a man miles away whom he couldn't meet. Symphonies and concertos didn't seem to be saying the right things.

And the longer he kept silence, the harder Sakura stared at him. Knowing her persistence as well as her loyalty, he cut the contest short and said, "I'm going to give it to Naruto."

Sakura's eyes widened, and Sasuke tried to keep his face straight as she stared. "You're transcribing an aria for Naruto."

Sasuke wave his hand in a fashion that meant  _ obviously _ .

"And it's a love song."

He didn't expect her to recognize it.

She chuckled. "That's not a hard guess, Sasuke. A popular aria is a love song of one kind or the other." She sighed before turning to the door. "I'm going to order take-outs."

Sakura pretty much became his housekeeper for the next two days as Sasuke finished up his work. She, in turn, covered things for him that he was supposed to be doing -- phone calls he was supposed to make, paper works he was supposed to complete. She also helped him with the recording until they got the version he was satisfied with. Soon, the file was sent and by all account that should have been the end of it.

But, of course, it wasn’t. It was probably the first time in years that Sasuke felt like a school boy, wanting approval and understanding. He knew Naruto wasn't going to respond right away, but, dear Lord, he couldn't help the anxiety. Exasperated with his relentless pacing, Sakura demanded that he showered, shaved, and ate some more take-outs before she let him checked his phone again.

That turned out to be sooner than he thought since the moment he stepped out of his bedroom -- changed, cleaned, and decent -- Sakura nonchalantly let him know that, "He called."

Sasuke stared at her. "Who?"

"Naruto."

It was a single word, just a name, but it made Sasuke's heart went from zero to third gear faster than riding a sport car. He grabbed the phone and stared at the first name in the missed call list, feeling both excitement and disappointment. Naruto just called him and he wasn't there to take it.

"Sasuke, stop being overdramatic and call him back," said Sakura as she shut down her laptop without as much as sparing a glance his way. "It's kind of cute that you fret over him this much, but we're a little too old for that, don't you think?" Then she turned to him and smile. "I'll go home for now and come by tomorrow so we can start working. You can tell me what happen then." At that, she said goodbye and left, leaving Sasuke alone with the phone in his hand.

He dropped himself on the couch just as he heard the door clicked shut, his thumb still hovering above Naruto's name. Should he call him? Maybe he was busy. He was still in the middle of touring after all. But he  _ did _ call Sasuke ten minutes earlier. Maybe it was still okay to call back. Maybe--

Ah, fuck it.

His thumb pressed down on the call button. And after a short while the ring tone went silent. The first word that greeted him wasn't 'hello' or 'hi'. It was " _ Sasuke. _ "

His inside melted at the syllables of his name coming from the other side of the line. "Hi. You called?"

_ "Yeah. I didn't interrupt anything, right?" _

"No, it's fine. I was just in the shower, that's all."

There was a pause. He could hear Naruto sighed.  _ "That might not be the kind of information you want to tell me, you know." _

"Really? Why not?"

He could feel that they were treading dangerous territory as another pause went by.  _ "Sasuke, that song you just sent..." _ Another pause.  _ "I've never heard you play anything so sensual." _

"I've done my job then," Sasuke replied, trying to keep his cool. "It's supposed to be a song where Delilah seduces Samson."

_ "Are you saying you're Delilah?" _

"Are you Samson then?"

Naruto burst out laughing.  _ "Oh, god. You're going to be the death of me." _ There was a fondness in his voice that made Sasuke smile.  _ "I'm a way weaker man than Samson, you know." _

Naruto's admission made Sasuke felt hot all over. He didn't want to read too much in between the line, but, god, was it  _ hard _ . "I'll have to make you demonstrate that some time," he whispered, knowing full well that he was now jumping into it. But, fuck it, he wanted this and he wanted it bad.

Naruto's laugh sounded darker now, and it sent goosebumps down Sasuke's back.  _ "If you mean tying me to a chair, I'm up for it." _

Suddenly, images of things he could do to Naruto tied to a chair popped up in his head, and he had to bit his lips to prevent himself from growling. Now, who was going to be the death of whom again? "Maybe," he replied as calmly as he could. "When are you back?" Naruto gave him the date. Sasuke let out a hum. "I'm actually free on that day and the day after. What's your schedule?"

_ "I'll be off all week. Maybe we should get dinner or something?" _

Sasuke paused for a bit, letting the suspense hang in the air for a little while, before he said, "I'm definitely up for dinner...and or-something."

He could hear Naruto chuckling from the other side of the line. " _ You have no idea what you're doing to me right now."  _ There was something wistful in his voice that made Sasuke paused.  _ "Tell me, Delilah. Will you cast me aside and leave me to die once you've gotten what you want?" _

Sasuke could hear a serious question underneath all the doublespeak, and his apprehension rose. He knew Naruto wanted some assurance, but he couldn't say it directly, not right now. It was too soon for him and too soon for them. "Not if I want you," was the only compromise he could make. He hoped it was enough.

Naruto hummed. He seemed satisfied with the answer. " _ I'll have to make sure you do, then. _ "

Promise was heavy in those words, and Sasuke had to take a deep breath after his inside threatened to riot. "You'll have to do that when you come back."

" _ Will do, _ " said Naruto. " _ I miss you. _ "

Sasuke's heart was doing a little dance at those words. "I miss you, too."

_ "I have to go for now, though. I'll talk to you soon? _ "

Although Sasuke didn't want the call to end, he said, "Yeah, see you soon." He waited until Naruto hang up, got up from the couch, and went straight back into the shower.

/***/

The two weeks he had to wait felt even longer after that conversation. True that they called and texted each other, but nothing was as sexually charged as that phone call. And, yes, Sasuke had nights where he dreamt of Naruto tied to a chair. That did not help the situation at all.

He still went about his day as usual, though -- practicing, attending meetings, talking to conductors, and making connections and potential collaborations. Only Sakura noticed something wrong with him, but she didn't ask for detail. "I don't want to know about your sex life," was her reason. The irony of that was Sasuke didn't have a sex life. He just had fantasies about a guy he met one night and talked to a couple of times on the phone, as pathetic as that sounded.

Yes, he knew he had it bad. The problem got even worse as the day drew near. The excitement reached its height on the day he knew Naruto was coming back. Although they made plan for the day after, Sasuke couldn't help but bounced out of bed that morning and began a cleaning frenzy to make his humble abode presentable. He fully intended to ask Naruto to come home with him after dinner. Maybe they could have a few drinks, maybe play a few songs together, and maybe have him sleep over, so Sasuke wanted to make sure he changed the sheets, stocked the drinks, and cleaned out all the crumpled up paper in his office.

If someone were to walk in now, he doubted that person would recognize him unless she's Sakura. He was in his ten-year-old shorts and t-shirt bleached in spots by the cleaning agents he used over the year. His hands were covered in cleaning gloves and sweating inside the unbreathable barrier of rubber. His hair was pulled back and pinned in place by hair clips, ridiculous amount of hair clips in fact.

Needless to say, he wasn't in a condition to receive any guest when the doorbell rang. At first he thought it was a mistake, but then the bell rang again, and so he had to push himself up from the soapy shower floor, take off the gloves, and go answer it.

The moment he opened the door, he wished he had at least taken off those hair clips because on the other side was Naruto with dark rings under his eyes and a five o'clock shadow on his jaw. His eyes were down-casted, and he frowned as if in contemplation as they stood there -- Sasuke too petrified by how poorly he must look at the moment, Naruto as if he didn't see any of it.

Then those blue eyes met Sasuke's, and he forgot about everything else. "I'm going to do something very stupid, okay?" Naruto began. "Punch me if you don't want it."

A pair of hands, cold and calloused, reached up to cup Sasuke’s cheeks as the blond leaned in. Sasuke's eyes fluttered shut as he felt the warm breath against his nose and then a press of chapped lips against his own. It took a second to register that Naruto had just kissed him. And when that second passed, those lips were gone. He opened his eyes and found Naruto looking at him, questions and uncertainty in those blue fathomless eyes.

So Sasuke grabbed his face and kissed him back with all the enthusiasm he had been saving up for the past two weeks. The blond made a surprise noise that turned into a pleased growl as he kissed back, pushing Sasuke up against the wall and all but devouring him. This time it was Sasuke who made the noises as Naruto’s tongue pressed up against his and Naruto’s hands combed into his hair. Hair clips were out and down, but they couldn’t care less. The raven's hands went for the blond’s waist, trying to find their way into the layers of clothes that was in between them until he noticed the violin case on Naruto's back. Sasuke had to pull back then. "You need to put that down."

It took a split second for Naruto to register what he was saying, but when he did, he pulled back as well. "Yeah, you're right." Then he stepped back, taking the case down from his back and kicking the shoes off his feet. Sasuke only noticed Naruto's luggage then, still sitting outside the door and totally forgotten by either of them. He quickly wheeled it in and kicked the door shut behind him. The luggage was left by the doorway as Sasuke turned his attention to the remaining hair clips, taking them out one by one to make sure none was left.

Just as the last clips was haphazardly put away, Naruto emerged from the living room now free from the violin but still with the jacket on, and Sasuke was displeased.

"Jacket, off," the raven said. He didn't remember where it went in the hallway, only that it was gone before Naruto was in front of him, his hand holding the back of Sasuke's head and kissing him again. The heat didn’t diminish from the time they were apart. If anything, it had grown hotter in the absence. It took all of Sasuke to not be swept away by the intensity of it all and maneuver them towards the bedroom. There was a newly made bed there that could use of some tousle-up right now.

When he finally find the strength to break away from the kiss, it was to undress the man in front of him. Sasuke decided that the belt was the offender and went on to remove it. "Did you come right from the airport?" Sasuke asked as he pulled the Naruto’s belt out and let it drop to the floor. Neither of them cared where it landed as Naruto took a step forward, pushing Sasuke backwards into the room.

"I had to," Naruto said as they crossed the threshold, but his eyes never left Sasuke’s face. "I need to see you."

Sasuke's chest swelled at the admission. It was still hard to believe that he could be wanted in this way, to move someone so much he came running to him the first moment he could. “You have me now,” he said as he grabbed the blond by the waist and pulled him closer. The back of his knees hit the bed, and he let them both tumble down, landing side by side on the mattress. 

This close and with a moment to breathe, Sasuke could see all the lines on Naruto's face, evidence of the energy he spent on the road. The raven's hands went to cup that strong jaw, brushing his thumbs against those lines, before he kissed him again, a little more tenderly this time. Naruto sighed in response, his body a bit more relaxed. His hands went to Sasuke’s waist and pulled him close until their entire body were touching. This time, it was Sasuke’s turn to sigh. He hadn't felt this close to anyone in ages, if ever. As excited as he was, there was also a sense of peace that made him feel like he could stay here forever, just with Naruto, and nothing else would have mattered.

They spent a while just kissing and touching, something that Sasuke had to admit he had never done to the same extent with any of his previous lovers. The intimacy led to a completely different kind of need in Sasuke, and he ran his hand down to tug at the waistband of Naruto’s jean. A hand came up to meet his as the blond pulled back with a frown on his face. "Please don't take this personally, okay?” he said. “I really want to make love to you right now, but I’m so tired I don’t think I can get it up."

Naruto was practically whining on the last part, which nearly made Sasuke snort if not for how insensitive that would have been. Instead, he hummed, slipping his arm over the blond's waist and holding him close. "None taken," he said, looking Naruto right in his eyes with an eyebrow lifted. "Actually, if you can still turn into a sex god after that exhausting a trip, I would back out of this deal right this instance."

At that, Naruto laughed -- loud, long, and hearty -- the sound that Sasuke loved most in the world. And he couldn’t help but smile. "God, you're the best," Naruto said once he finally gathered himself again.

"Don't jinx it," the raven replied, brushing Naruto's hair back. "How about you freshen up a bit and I make us something easy to eat?"

Naruto yawned. "Sounds good. Any chance I can borrow something to change into?"

"Sure," replied Sasuke. He reluctantly left the cocoon of Naruto's arms and headed for the closet to dig out something the other could wear. Just as he was pulling out a pair of gym pants, he heard a snore from behind him. Sasuke looked over his shoulder and found Naruto on his stomach on the bed and out like a light. The quiet snore came out of the slightly open mouth, completely relaxed and threatened to overflow with drool. The corners of Sasuke’s mouth turned upward as he walked over to the bed. "Naruto." He got nothing back except another snore, and Sasuke shook his head. Naruto really wasn’t kidding when he said he was tired, which made Sasuke all the more glad he came. He didn’t want to think what state Naruto would be in if he had gone home alone.

The raven sat down beside him and helped the blond get comfortable on his back. His jeans and shirt was taken off and a duvet was put on top to keep him warm. Sasuke dimmed the light before he quietly escaped out the door. After all, he still had that shower to deal with.

/***/

Sasuke's palms began to sweat as they were led through the winding and narrow passage of a studio's backstage. He hadn't played live on TV in a long time, since he was thirteen and still the boy-wonder of classical music, in fact. That had been great for expanding his fan base, although, at thirteen, he honestly couldn't care less.

Now he was in his thirties, a recognized genius virtuoso, successful classical violinist, and still terrified as hell for when the camera came on.

"You okay?" Naruto asked. Sasuke couldn't see him in the dark but the raven could hear the nervousness there as well.

"Hopefully a little better than you," he said. The blond chuckled quietly beside him. "I hate being taped."

"That makes two of us," was the reply. Their conversation stopped there when the producer came by to run them through the cues. They were led out onto the darkened part of the stage. The only light now was on the host of the TV program doing the introduction to a giant camera. The audience’s attention was focused on her, so they didn't seem to notice additional members to the stage. A small red light suddenly blinked and Sasuke saw another studio camera pointing at them -- the cue to get prepared. He turned to Naruto who let out a sigh. 

"Ready?"

"Ready," the blond muttered back, and then the blinding stage light came on. The scream was deafening but everything seemed to get filtered out when Naruto played his first note. Sasuke had always loved Naruto's first note to a song. He always gave so much love and thought to how to open a piece, to how to make the audience fall in love with the music the way the blond did, that it never failed to capture the attention of anyone who would listen.

Sasuke followed him, entering with a tender solo line. Then the percussion kicked in with Naruto's part. Sasuke played his supporting role to perfection until the focus was back on him again. This was where he got to tease, making eyes with Naruto across the stage that never failed to make the blond smile back as he played the same lines back at him but in a slightly different way. It was always different every time, and that was the beauty of it. The rhythm of the swing make it easy to feel like they were dancing around each other, throwing lines back and forth like they were in a lovers' banter. Naruto's were always a tad sweeter than his, and that was just how Sasuke liked it.

There was no crescendo for the ending, just the two of them playing together, filling up the spaces left by each other. The song was all fun and spirited until the very end. Claps and cheers could be heard. The host of the show walked across the stage to them. Her voice boomed. "Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, everyone!" The cheers went up again as she greeted them and motioned them to the seats. There were a couch and a chair set up next the her black chair like a mocked version of a model living room. Naruto walked in just behind her and took the seat on the couch. Even though there was enough space for the two of them to sit separately and comfortably, Sasuke decided to sit next to Naruto. Their thighs were basically touching.

"Welcome and welcome back!" the host said with a bright smile as she looked to Sasuke then to Naruto. "The last time you were here it was with Sai to promote your album together _. _ And now you're back with another collaboration. Your rollercoaster is really going up, my friend."

Naruto laughed. "That's so nice of you, Tenten. Actually, this album had been long in the making, before my album with Sai even. So, I'm excited to be able to share these songs with you guys, finally."

Tenten nodded. "I have to say, I was quite surprised that you got the super-virtuoso himself to join you in this one. In case you guys don't know, Sasuke was a widely recognized violin prodigy, and he was on this show performing a solo in the time of my predecessor. You were thirteen, am I right?"

"Yes, that was a really long time ago," Sasuke replied and, to his horror, realized that screen behind them was showing the footage from that time. He kept his face straight as Naruto turned around to watch. The audience 'aww'-ed at the baby-faced version of himself trying to look all serious and adult-like.

"You were so cute," said Naruto, laughing. Sasuke gave him stink eyes.

Tenten, thankfully, just went on. "The thing that surprises me is that you have been known for a long time in the classical music world as the greatest violin virtuoso of this generation. What prompted you to collaborate with a jazz musician like Naruto?"

"Well, I can't have Sai outdo me now, can I?" Laughter was all around, mostly coming from Naruto who knew best that Sasuke was only half joking. "The project came organically from our friendship, actually. We've been fooling around with rearranging songs for our own amusement. It's only now that Naruto’s finally convinced me to put them out there."

Tenten quickly turned to Naruto at that. "Good job, because I have to say this album is outrageously good and outrageously diverse, too. You have Bach's Double Violin Concerto played with a jazz band," she began reading from the back of the CD, "'Tea for Two', the one we've just heard today -- that's a classic jazz standard -- but also Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody', and Ed Sheeran's 'Shape of You'! You've got a good cover on the pop culture, my friend."

"Well, an old man I know likes to say every genre was pop once," Naruto said. Tenten nodded along wisely.

"That's one thing I love about Naruto actually," interjected Sasuke. His hand placed casually on Naruto's knee. The blond turned to look at him, but Sasuke just kept going. "To him, music is music, and he loves them all. That's why everything he plays sounds great -- jazz, pop, classical, whatever. And that makes playing with him a joy, too."

At that, he turned to the blond, and Sasuke's breath caught by the tender way Naruto was looking at him in that moment. Sasuke quickly turned back to Tenten who was asking her next question. "Does that mean we're going to get to hear you play more pop now?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No, my area of expertise really is in classical music. I'm not versatile enough to really do crossovers without help." He gave Naruto another brief glance.

The blond chuckled before he turned to the host. "That's a lie. He's fantastic. He really is the most gifted musician I've had the pleasure of working with. He's just very humble."

"Sai would disagree with you on the last point." Naruto chuckled again.

Tenten’s eyes were twinkling as she watched the exchange, clearly loving the chemistry that had been going on. “One of these days you two will have to tell me how this all started since this looks like it's going to be a really fruitful partnership," she said with a smile. "But that’s all we have time for today. Thank you so much for coming in." Then she turned to the audience and the camera. "The album is out now on iTune and vendors of physical media near you. Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, everyone."

The audience claps and cheers loudly as both of them got up, waved to the crowd, and made their way back to the backstage once the director said cut. Sakura was waiting for them with two thumbs up. "Good job, guys," she said. She and Naruto high-fived, something that had become a tradition since she also became Naruto's manager. "Let's take a break for today. You have another show to tape tomorrow."

"Ah, geez. I hope this circus ends soon," Naruto said, shaking his head.

Sakura sighed. "It's good for business. Your album is climbing the iTune chart, you know. We got to get the words out there!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Naruto chuckled. All both of them wanted to do, really, was to play the violin. In that sense, it was good to have someone like Sakura to take care of the business side of things so they didn’t need to deal with it, but, man, it was still annoying as hell.

As they trailed behind her to the dressing room, Naruto said, “Speaking of publicity, that was pretty bold out there, Sasuke. Someone might notice, you know." There was enough mirth in his tone that Sasuke knew Naruto wasn’t intimidated by the prospect of having their relationship becoming public knowledge, which was good because neither was Sasuke. They decided to not make an official announcement only because neither of them felt right flaunting their private lives to a world that had no business with it.

“Then don’t look at me like you want to eat me next time,” he said in reply.

Like always, Naruto came right back. “But I can’t help it! You were saying such cute things.”

Sasuke hummed noncommittally. “Well, I can’t have Sai beat me on the number of fan fictions we get now, can I?”

At that Naruto burst out laughing, scaring all the technicians in the vicinity. There was never a happier sound in Sasuke's life.

/***/

The End :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Playlist!
> 
> -Among the renditions of Debussy's 'La Plus que Lente', Jascha Heifetz's is my favorite.
> 
> -The song Ino recorded is Laura. I based Naruto's playing on Stephane Grappelli's and Yehudi Menuhin's duet version.
> 
> -The song Naruto sent back to Sasuke was 'If I had you', based on Stephane Grappelli's and Oscar Peterson's performance.
> 
> -The version of 'Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix' that inspired Sasuke was Stjepan Hauser's of the 2Cellos fame. The one by Lorenza Borrani & Chamber Orchestra of Europe is also great, but it doesn't quite have the extra sauciness.
> 
> -Again, I based Naruto's and Sasuke's playing 'Tea for Two' on the duet by Stephane Grappelli and Yehudi Menuhin. It's originally a song from a musical and it's about two lovers imagining their future together, which is appropriate, I feel. :)
> 
> -And yes, both Bach’s Double violin concerto and ‘Shape of You’ have been covered in jazz. Bohemian Rhapsody not so successfully, I would argue, but that’s a hard one.


End file.
